1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body hair treating implement which can be advantageously used to cut or dress unwanted body hair of arms or legs, etc., or before one wears a bikini.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, if a cutting tool such as scissors or a razor is used to cut unwanted hair before one wears a hi-leg swimsuit or leotard, the tips of the cut hair are sharp due to shear cutting. The sharp tips can easily thrust into clothes of the swimsuit, etc., which he or she wears and protrude out of the clothes or cause the wearer to feel pain upon touching.
The inventor of the present application has proposed a hair treating implement having an electrical heating element which burns and cuts the body hair so as to leave a round tip on the hair (U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,993, EPO 434903, CA 2023908 or AUS 625947).
In this hair treating implement, provision is essentially made of two comb tooth plates which are spaced from one another so that the sides surfaces thereof are opposed to each other, and an electrical heater such as a nichrome wire which is provided between the opposed comb tooth plates and which is in contact with the body hair located between the adjacent comb teeth of the comb tooth plates, so that when the electrical power is supplied to the heater, the heater generates red-heat and burns and-cuts the body hair brought into contact therewith. The body hair which is in contact with the heating wire can be easily burned and cut. The tip edges of the burned and cut hair are not sharp but round, unlike the conventional hair remover using a cutting tool such as a razor or scissors, etc., in which the hair is sheared.
The proposed hair treating implement can be also used as a hair dressing tool in a barber or beauty shop. Namely, the tips of the dressed hair can be rounded, curled or frizzled to obtain a desired hair style by burning and cutting the same using the heating element which is brought into slide-contact therewith.
In the case that the heating element is made of a fine wire such as a nichrome wire, it is possible to provide a heater cartridge (cassette) which can be removably attached to the implement body. Thus, if the heating wire is broken, it can be replaced with a new cartridge.
Means for absorbing an excessive looseness or elongation of the heating wire due to the thermal expansion upon generating heat is provided to tense the heating wire.
An internal power source type in which a dry battery or storage battery is incorporated in the implement body or an external power source type in which an electrical power is supplied through a DC converter from an external commercial power source to which the hair treating implement is connected by a conductor can be used.
If the distance between the opposed comb tooth plates is too small, the nichrome wire as a heating element provided between the comb tooth plates is located so close to the inner surfaces of the comb tooth plates that a heat loss of the comb tooth plates is caused. To prevent this, in general, the distance between the comb tooth plates is set in the range of 5 to 10. The distance of 5 to 10 mm permits the finger tip or other foreign members to easily enter.
Furthermore, in the proposed hair treating implement, the outer shell (plastic mold) of the implement body which is composed of separate parts which can be assembled or disassembled houses therein;
a) an electrical contact piece which is brought into contact with the heater cartridge attached to the implement body to supply the heating element of the heater cartridge with the electrical power from the implement body; PA1 b) a tensing means for tensing the heating element of the heater cartridge attached to the implement body; PA1 c) an operation switch (ON-OFF switch) for the heating element; PA1 d) a connector which can be connected to an external power source to receive the power therefrom; and PA1 e) a circuit board (electronic circuit board or electric circuit board) for controlling the power supply.
These elements are electrically connected to each other so as to achieve the respective functions. Thereafter, the separate parts of the outer shell are assembled to complete a product.
However, the incorporation and arrangement of the separate elements a) through e) in the outer shell are troublesome and make the structure of the implement complex. Moreover, the electrical connection of the electrical elements incorporated in the implement body using connecting wires complicates the assembling or manufacturing operation. Consequently, due to the synergistic action or the interaction of the operations, the yield of the parts or products may be reduced or the manufacturing cost may be increased.
From the viewpoint of safety, it is desirable that user's finger tip or other foreign members can not enter the space defined between the opposed comb tooth plates in which the heating element which generates heat when supplied with the electrical power is placed.